Top 7 Backend Web Development Frameworks 2019

Businesses all over the world are extolling the virtue of Digital Transformation, which has led to successive innovation of mobile and web applications. They are spending a humungous amount of capital to woo the digital-born customers by building intuitive user interfaces and infusing technology capabilities to their frontend. But then, it should not be forgotten that seamless, omnichannel frontend experiences are always predicated on a robust backend, which is inutile without an intelligent framework.

Backend Web Development consists of innumerable tasks. For instance, protecting the APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) from third-party attacks, authorizing users, facilitating flawless interaction with databases, and routing URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) to databases to fetch information requested by clients, and so on. The backend frameworks, also called the server-side web frameworks, make all these tasks convenient and hassle-free for developers. 

What makes a Backend framework the best?

Backend frameworks are judged by the programming tools, languages, and interfaces they offer. Moreover, developers prefer frameworks that offer pre-configured tools and templates that help them fast track multifarious web development tasks. Put directly, an advanced backend framework accelerates the development speed, making the tasks less time consuming for developers. An advanced backend should not be limited to providing a structure, or just a methodology to develop applications, rather it should allow developers to build interoperable platforms that can shoulder the workload at scale. 

Trending Backend Frameworks for 2019  

There are innumerable frameworks that developers use to build backend web apps, but mentioned-below are the top 7 backend frameworks, which have impressed the worldwide developers at large.

1. Spring Boot Framework

Spring Boot is one of the Best Backend frameworks that developers count on while performing backend web development tasks. It is a Spring-based framework that allows developers to write production-grade backend web applications in Java. Spring Boot is microservices-ready, which allows developers to divvy the load for proper handling of requests made by the users across devices and platforms.

Let’s see why the Spring Boot framework is among the best.

• Creates stand-alone ready-to-run backend web applications
• Runs auto-configuration of libraries in Spring as well as other third-party backend frameworks
• Makes it convenient to find and add dependencies required for a particular project
• Comes with Spring Boot CLI (Command Line Interface), which allows developers to write applications in Groovy, a programming language that simplifies development
• Requires no code generation and neither the XML (eXtensible Markup Language) configuration 

2. Express Framework

A free, open-source backend web development framework, Express or Express.js is the topmost framework of Node.js. It is non-restrictive in nature and is widely used by developers across the world to write backend web applications and build efficient APIs. Released in the year 2010, Express is an unopinionated Node.js framework that helps developers build backend web and mobile apps with a minimalist approach. It is one of the important components of the MEAN Stack development. 

The following are some of the unique features that make the framework developer’s favorite. 

• Offers innumerable HTTP utility methods to build dynamic, perceptive APIs
• Facilitates routing based on URLs and HTTP methods
• Consists of preconfigured plug-ins and template engines that significantly reduces the development time
• Supports high-speed test coverage
• Allows quick execution of engines that enables developers to develop applications in comparatively less time    

3. Django Framework

A free, open-source backend web development framework, Django is widely used for the rapid development of APIs and high-end backend web applications. Named after the renowned guitarist, Django Reinhardt, this Python framework was created in 2003. The Django framework supports the quick development of backend web applications with very little coding. The efficiency of this Python web development framework is proved by the fact that it is used by some of the busiest applications on the web. 

Besides taking off the web development hassles, Django has many other features that woo the developers across the world. 

• Provides a stateless mechanism for authentication that secures the apps from third-party attacks
• Helps identify XML and JSON files which efficiently works with relational database management systems
• Supports scalability as it is based on a “share nothing” architecture, which allows developers to add new hardware at any stage
• Comes with fully-loaded task modules and libraries that makes web development hassle-free for developers

4. Ruby on Rails (RoR) Framework

Released in 2004, Ruby on Rails is a free, open-source MVC backend web development framework. Ruby has always been considered to be one of the most developer-friendly languages and the Rails framework combines the capabilities of Ruby language. This framework provides developers with pre-defined solutions to perform repetitive tasks. It supports super-fast development and offers almost every component that a developer looks for in an advanced framework. It has been used to build the backend of renowned applications such as GitHub, Airbnb, Shopify, and Zendesk. 

The following are some of the unique features of the Ruby on Rails framework.

• Supports Convention over Configuration (CoC) approach that boosts flexibility while performing the backend web development tasks
• Comes with DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) approach, which enables to build lightweight apps
• Provides detailed error-log, which helps developers keep applications free from bugs
• Supports the creation and development of URLs that are Search Engine friendly
• Integrates libraries that make the server’s data handling hassle-free and simplify the codes 
•  Allows each object to possess its own unique attributes, which facilitates interaction with third-party objects for seamless development.

5.  Laravel Lumen Framework

The Laravel framework is well-known for building robust backend web apps. It is loaded with web building components and is said to be a fully-featured backend web development framework. But the Lumen framework, which has been derived from Laravel, has gradually gained traction among developers all over the world. Lumen, a lightweight framework, uses the Laravel base allowing developers to build microservices and high-performant APIs. When compared, it is efficient than the Laravel framework as it can handle more requests.    

Laravel Lumen is widely preferred by developers while writing backend web applications in PHP. Released in the year 2015, the Lumen framework consists of the following features. 

• Minimizes the bootstrapping process and offers complete flexibility
• Allows quick upgrade of the ongoing projects to the Laravel framework
• Consists of a Fast Route Library that quickly send requests to appropriate handlers
• Uses tokens to authenticate multiple users at the same time
• Supports caching, error, and log-handling as efficiently as Laravel

6. Flask Framework

When it’s about writing backend web applications in Python, which is “one of the fastest-growing programming languages,” developers prefer the Flask framework. Created at Pocoo in 2004 by a contingent of Python developers led by Armin Ronacher, Flask helps in creating incredibly lightweight backend web applications. This Python framework is based on Werkzeug (library) and Jinja 2 (a template engine), which allows developers to build customized and scalable applications. 

The Flask framework, a WSGI (Web Server Gateway Interface) compliant framework, is said to be truly flexible not only because it can be quickly set-up, but also because it does not foist dependencies on developers. It allows them to choose from the suggestions that it provides. Let’s have a look at some of the features that make this micro-framework the best. 

• Consists of built-in development servers and debugger, which accelerates the development speed and allows quick identification and elimination of bugs 
• Provides complete compatibility with Google App Engine
• Follows the minimalist approach that allows developers to take complete control while building applications
• Integrates complete support for unit testing that allows developers to test production codes with a fail-fast approach
• Offers detailed documentation that allows developers to plug-in any of the extensions they want 

7. Microdot Framework

The Microdot framework is gradually gaining traction among developers worldwide as it helps in creating reliable, scalable microservices. An open-source .NET framework, Microdot allows developers to focus on coding as it offers well-written documents on microservices pattern and architecture. If your organization uses platforms developed by Microsoft and in case you plan to build microservices, Microdot is incontrovertibly the best option. 

The following are some of the features that make this .NET microservices development framework the favorite of developers. 

Allows seamless connectivity to any of the database systems

• Supports developing Orlean-based microservices
• Consists of inbuilt customization options that support future advancements
• Offers a variety of tools and templates that accelerate the tasks while developing microservices
• Supports regular software update
• Enables logging and distributed tracing

Backend Frameworks Infusing Agility, Acting as a Catalyst to Innovation   

Backend frameworks provide complete agility and flexibility to support efficient handling of the load created
by a volley of requests and responses. They guide developers out of their silos and serve as a catalyst to innovation. 

There are a plethora of frameworks, which are being used by developers. But these are best among them. Some of them have created a buzz in the developer’s community in a very short span of time, whereas some are the power behind the world’s busiest applications. Most importantly, their ability to integrate with other stacks of technology while creating applications makes them a hit among developers.